Planet Swans ArchivesIt’s been said many times that without the experience of Addison and the amount of years he has been in football, that the survival of the Swans could be a much more severe situation than it is right now.
When Peter Nicholas told Addison that he was questioning his decision to stay at Swansea after his pay cheque had bounced, Addison talked to him and persuaded him to stick with it. Nicholas is glad now that he helped him out, but this shows how rock solid Addison has been throughout it all and how we could be in a worse position than we are in without him.
Talking about how he has managed to stay focused and not felt like quitting himself, he said “It’s not my style, roll up your sleeves and get on with it, I say.” He does admit that the pressure has been intense at times though, “I have asked myself, ‘Addo, what have you let yourself in for? What have you done?’. In moments of doubt like those, I will go and have a quiet beer or a stroll up and down the beach, just to clear my head.”
“Never once have I thought of packing it in, not once. I like a challenge and we’ve certainly got one here! Luckily, I’ve got my many years as a manager to call upon. When you’re in football, you either mope or you get on with things. I’m actually still enjoying it – the on-the-pitch stuff anyway and what the players have done in putting the little run together which has taken us up to mid-table is quite remarkable.”
On Christmas Eve Addison, Nicholas and the players found out that they were not being paid for December. Without the cool head of Addison the team would have been expected to lose at the away match to Exeter, but that’s not his style and instead he turned a depressing situation into a victory against the odds.
As the team bus neared Exeter Addison asked for the radio to be turned down and said to the players “I know you’ve had an ugly Christmas, I know it’s unfair, but do you want to PLAY?” He then asked those who did to put their hands up and come forward to the front of the bus. All the players put up their hands and they went on to win the game 3-0.
It is outstanding that the team has done so well under the circumstances and when the off-field problems are sorted out, Addison can concentrate on the football side of things and a lot of pressure will be taken off him.
We were and are lucky to have Addison here, his talk to the fans before the Lincoln game shows that he appreciates us and the feeling is mutual.
